NA Aces Section Test Against North Hills, 3-0
by: Randy Gore
The North Allegheny girls’ volleyball team won its 15th consecutive match with a 3-0 straight sweep over the North Hills Indians on Tuesday night at UPMC Court. The Tigers won by set scores of 25-9, 25-13 and 25-23.
The seven-time reigning state champions stormed out of the gates and broke open set one with a 9-0 run to grab a 13-2 lead. Sophomore Molly Robertson powered NA with four kills in the opening set on her way to a team-high 10 kills on the night. Robertson also distributed 12 assists.
The Tigers flummoxed the Indians with their serves as junior Reagan Riordan tallied four aces, two to cap off the set one victory and two more to help NA take an early 4-2 lead in set two. Junior Keely McMahon-Regan followed with three more aces to grow the Tigers advantage to 15-5. From there, NA volleyball cruised to a 25-13 triumph.
North Hills, a playoff participant the last two seasons, found a rhythm in the third set and built a 21-17 lead. The Indians were powered by the junior Ashlyn Fazio, the daughter of North Allegheny Hall of Famer Chris Fazio (’93), who notched five kills, a block and an ace in set three. Despite the uprising by the underdog Indians, the Tigers rallied by taking eight of the final 10 points to claim a 25-23 win to close out the straight-sets victory.
Senior middle blocker Bridgit Murphy was a steady force at the net with six kills and five blocks, earning Wright Automotive Player of the Game honors. Sophomore Alicia Mokube and senior Hannah DeLucia chipped in offensively with five kills each.
The hustle of senior Mack Jones was another contributing factor, to go along with a team-high 14 assists. Defensively, senior setter Macey Casten posted a team-best 17 digs, followed by Riordan with 12 digs.
With the win, North Allegheny improves to 5-0 overall and 3-0 in Section 2-AAAA. North Hills slips to 2-5 overall and 0-3 in the section. The Tigers will visit Butler on Wednesday ahead of the Cumberland Valley Invitational on Saturday.
Girls Volleyball Summary vs. North Hills, 9-17-24
| SCORE BY SETS | 1 | 2 | 3 | FINAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Hills | 9 | 13 | 23 | 0 |
| North Allegheny | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
